


Arctic Tundra

by cuinaminute



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: After New Moon, Alternate Universe, Denali coven - Freeform, F/F, Femslash, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Traveling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:53:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28706232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuinaminute/pseuds/cuinaminute
Summary: Bella is changed after the Cullens left her. She doesn't remember her life, who she is. But she does know that she is now a vampire and a voice in her head is telling her to stick to the forest, to stay away from people. A coven of blonde vampires soon find her and offer to help her come to terms with her new life and a certain blonde with golden eyes refuses to leave her mind.
Relationships: Kate/Bella Swan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 103





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Look at me... starting something new when I still haven't finished all the other things I'm working on.  
> I might change the title later on because it was totally random because I needed a title. Also, this chapter is really short, sorry about that.

Pain, the first thing she notices is pain.

Her body is burning, her lungs feel heavy. There is a searing pain in her neck that's spreading, expanding, moving throughout her.

It's simmering just below the surface, seconds from bursting but never quite. Hot raging flames that consume and spread.

It's moving through her like a pulse, like a heartbeat that just seems to drag on, not quite stopping, never quite racing.

She doesn't know how long she's been burning, it's not easy to think when fire shoots up her spine every time she takes a breath. She can't concentrate when it feels like her limbs are seconds from bursting into flames.

Somewhere in the back corners of her scattered panicking mind, a voice is telling her not to scream. Warning her to not show how much it hurts, burns.

_You're not weak. It's dangerous if you show pain, so you don't. You hear me?_

She doesn't know whose voice it is, who it belongs to. But she listens because a part of her, some instinct that she didn't know she had knows the voice is right.

So she keeps quiet, clenching her teeth so hard that she thinks they'll crack, keeps her eyes shut tight even though she wants to cry and sob and beg.

There is no one to hold her hand as the fire uproars and spreads with new intensity. No one to tell her the feeble lie that everything will be okay, as the heat closes in on her frantically beating heart. It's climbing and climbing and she doesn't know if she wants to find out what happens when it reaches its peak, when there is nothing else to consume.

She wishes she could just pass out and finally no longer feel like she's been thrown into the sun but the pain is simmering just at the edge of allowing her that decency. Not quite there, not yet. Right at the tipping point but not budging.

It takes her a moment to realise as she tries to reach past the haze of burning fire that's rushing through her, pain that's demanding to be the center of attention.

Something is…. missing, something important. But she doesn't know what it is. Where is it? What's missing? She's wrecking her already scattered mind to find it, what was it? She's trying to concentrate, trying to figure it out.

_Come on stupid brain, just work!_

It clicks or rather it doesn't because it's not a thought but a feeling.

Or rather the absence of a feeling.

She knows what it is and it would stop if it were still working.

Her heart. Her no longer beating heart.

And she doesn't have time to panic on why that is so terribly wrong because a different sort of burn, heavy sluggish, joins the flames and starts crawling up her legs, simmering within her bones and invading her muscles, locking her in place. She cant move as the joined fires continue burning and scorching everything that she is, that she was.

When the pain reaches beyond what she imagined possible, when it finally has hold of her, engulfing her in the hot flames that she knows, just knows will put the surface of the sun to shame, she screams. Not caring anymore what a voice in her head is telling her, no matter that the voice is now yelling at her to stop because she _can't_.

It's burning and burning, and something more. Coming to a halt in her chest, dancing around her dead heart. She expects it, she tries to prepare for it but when every single flame that's lived in her body for who knows how long jumps and consumes the poor organ, she wishes she could die, she wishes to whatever god there is that she was never born.

No one could be put through this amount of pain and survive, not even her worst enemy should feel what she's being submitted to.

There is no relief, she doesn't think there will ever be.

Just fire, and flames, and scolding heat.

And then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was definitely difficult to write, I did not know how I wanted it to go and the beginning and the end were probably the hardest parts to write. Also a warning for those who need it, her first kill is not an animal.

Strong yet thin branches reach out from worn bark. Searching and pointing the way to secret paths. The color of new life sprouts from wood, growing strong and sturdy, claiming its place.

When a breeze comes through or when animals move with enough force and speed some leaves lose grip and ride the wind until they reach the forest floor, meeting others that have fallen.

A few are still bright and vibrant while others are dull in color and hardening from the cut off of life.

An owl perching on a branch takes off, strong wings flapping with enough force to knock a few leaves loose. They float down until they reach the ground, one leaf meets skin hard as marble and settles without disruption, resting like it was always there.

There is no silence, sounds of the forest carry through the thickness of trees and plants. Insects chattering and chirping, a skittish raccoon searching for food, frogs croaking. A young doe is grazing on the blades of grass while keeping an eye out for predators, picking its head up every once in a while.

A breath that is not necessary brings air into lungs that no longer burn for such a basic need.

Amongst the forest floor, a small ash colored shrew that's moving through the undergrowth is picked up by an owl. A twig snaps under the weight of an opossum that's sniffing for anything to satiate its hunger.

The single leaf resting against marble is disturbed with another breath. It glides off smooth skin until it freefalls a short distance to the ground and lands with a silent thud.

Scarlet eyes open to meet the blending colors of wilderness. Shades of green and brown meet in between and mix, the black of the night stretched out all around.

Tentative fingers dig into the soil with ease, disturbing the greenery and tugging roots out of place. The earth is light and bleeds out before being released.

She doesn't remember the forest being like this, so defined even when swallowed by darkness. There is life everywhere, noises and smells surrounding her, nothing is quiet.

Moving to sit up to get a better look at where she is, her eyes catch the form of the doe that was grazing a few moments ago as it gallops away into the shadows of the surrounding trees.

She can see the dried mud that clings to its hooves, the texture of the soft fur. She can make out the white of the doe's underbelly, the way it breathes. The heartbeat that is fast and steady and moving warm blood throughout the body, hearing it long after the animal leaves her sight.

A wolf is howling in the distance and she leaps to her feet faster than what should be possible but doesn't ponder on it as she listens. The animal starts moving after a moment but not at a full run, it doesn't seem in a hurry. She wonders where it's going, where the rest of the pack was, or if it was a lone wolf.

Choosing not to ponder on the subject because the wolf is traveling in the opposite direction of where she is at the moment, she glances down at her feet which are bare. No shoes and no socks. She can't remember if she had shoes on before or not, actually she can't remember how she got out here in the first place.

She glances around before looking up at the sky, there is an echo of an echo in her mind telling her to find the north star, to follow it but the many branches of trees and thick dark clouds obscure her view.

The sound of a bat's high pitched clicks traveling through the forest brings her out of her thoughts and she glances in the direction of where the small creature is flying.

There is a sensation in the back of her throat that grows stronger, a need that demands to be satisfied. A feeling of fire that's not quite fire clawing up her throat and lingering. It's uncomfortable and annoying and all that she can think of is a way to make it lessen, to make it go away.

A sound far off in the distance catches her attention, overcoming everything else that's out there, it's strong and steady and she knows in an instant that it's a heartbeat.

A soft intake of air brings a faint but overpoweringly mouth watering smell to her and scarlet eyes darken to black in less than a second.

She's moving before she even knows what's happening, the beating of the heart calling her, beckoning her like she's in a trance and she can do nothing but follow.

Everything around her is a blur as she moves with speed that's new and exhilarating, the breeze soft against her skin and strands of hair moving out of her face from how fast she's running.

She reaches her destination in seconds, not knowing how far she ran nor caring. The cabin in front of her looks small and cozy, the wood is old cedar, it looks well built and she can hear the crackling of fire that's burning pine logs in a fireplace.

The light that's coming through one of the windows of the cabin tells her that someone is home. She can hear it, like a drum beating loudly, sounding right next to her. Strong and steady and tempting.

There is a click and the front door opens, the person that's occupying the cabin doesn't even take another step before she's upon them.

Sharp teeth tear into soft flesh not so gently and the painful cries that are coming from her prey that she's pinned to the polished wood don't sway her away from the burning need to take until there is nothing left to take, until she's had her fill.

The heartbeat that's racing beneath her soon slows to a crawl until it beats no more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter.  
> It's shorter than I intended but I've been super busy lately.  
> Warning cause there is some description of injury and blood.

She grimaces at the sight before her.

There is no beauty in this destruction. It's raw and real and terrifying.

Prey succumbed to predator.

Polished wood now stains red, fragments of shattered bones, torn flesh, and exposed muscles. She can see what remains of the carotid artery clear as day, can hear the broken bones of the neck grind together when the head rolls back and hits the floor with a soft thud. A face that's half drenched in red is staring at the ceiling with dull eyes, she's curious about how much they felt before she broke their neck.

Her hands are slick, blood smears across the lower half of her face. It's warm against freezing skin and she runs her tongue over her bottom lip with a hum of satisfaction.

Flexing her fingers that are digging into bones that make up a shoulder, she wonders why it felt like snapping toothpicks before loosening and then releasing her grip. Her curiosity vanishes when she notices the smell of blood still surrounding her, like a fog that is sweet and tantalizing and all consuming.

She wants more, needs more. The instinctual part of her, the beast that's just below the surface demands more.

After getting to her feet and taking a step back from the body, she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes listening for a heartbeat, a scent, anything that tells her what she's looking for. Past the sounds that blend with the forest, the consuming noises from the cabin. The soft pattering of fresh rain that's hitting the porch and roof, dampening the wood to a darker color.

She can hear tree branches creak under the occasional strong gust of wind, rain splashes against rocks, droplets seep into the soil on contact. A bird ruffled its feathers from its nest in one of the many trees, a fox sniffs the air before heading west, its paws hitting the ground sound like thunder.

The sound of fire that's eating away at burning wood, buzzing of lightbulbs that are glancing down, the humming of a refrigerator that definitely has something loose, water dripping from a steel faucet.

A frustrated growl vibrates in her chest when everything becomes overwhelming, consuming, growing louder. How far in the forest was she?

She has to concentrate. But she can't, her mind won't focus. There is so much going on around her, too much.

She glances back at the body at her feet, limbs pointed in awkward positions, clothes torn and shredded, warmth of skin slowly fading. Staring because there is a small part of her that refuses to believe she did that, that she was capable of doing that.

But she feels powerful, she has energy that wasn't there before. A strength that's new and fast growing, sight that picks up every little detail better than before, hearing that's somehow gotten more keen.

The burning in her throat that was overwhelming is now just a mild ache, it's still there and she still wants it gone but it's not a desperate need anymore, not like before.

Turning and leaving the cabin to stand outside in the downpour that's just started, she pushes the part of her that's questioning what she's become to the back corners of her mind. The wet soil beneath her feet gives her goosebumps, she stands there as she lets her clothes soak through, the raindrops feel warm against her skin. Allows the rain to mix with blood and dirt as it washes away what she's done.

She stands there, still as a statue until the rain ends. Until she can hear the telltale sounds of the morning.


End file.
